Coming Home
by Tiffierene
Summary: Slight AU. He's been gone for 3 years. She's still haunted by how he walked away. What will happen when during an unexpected night of partying he tries to pick back up from where he left off? Which friend is also vying for her affections? Who will she choose? What troubles will she be faced with? Chapter 1 has been edited once again and made longer finally! Reviews? I love 'em!


**A.N.:** Hello my lovelies! I have been sitting on this tidbit of a story for about a year now. Editing, re-editing, debating on if I really like it, so I've given up my internal debating and have decided to let you tell me if I should write more.

 **Disclaimer:** All characters belong to their Copyrights and owners! Except Carol and maybe more made up characters I can think up if this story is a hit.

ON WITH THE STORY! R&R!

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Coming Home

 _I never imagined I could be so cherished. There's a squeeze in his embrace, as if he's debating on never letting me go. This show of intimacy is rare, I love it, but it feels bittersweet. Not only bittersweet, but as if he's trying to make up his mind on whether to let me go or not. What's brought this on? I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. His embrace gets tighter, he's kissing my hair, but now he's pushing me away._

 _He's walking away. What did I do for him to turn away? I try again to say something, still nothing comes out. He's almost out of sight before I notice the onslaught of tears that are running down my face. What did I do wrong? Every fiber in my body is screaming for him to embrace me again, kiss me in that way only he knows how, and tell me everything's okay._

 _I try to yell, but every word I want to say is clogged under the emotions that are running rampant inside of me. I'm running after him, but with every step I take he's that much further ahead of me, barely within sight. 'Please. Please don't leave me. I never wanted you to leave. I can't stand the pain of being alone again. Please! I'll do anything,' my mind keeps screaming. My lips are forming the same words as my brain, but still no sound comes out._

 _I fall to my knees exhausted from the efforts to run to him and keep my emotions at bay. Kneeling on the ground, unable to see him anymore, I am no longer able to keep the emotions pushed back. My tears fall faster than they were before. I can hear my gasps for breath between every heart wrenching sob. "NO! NO DON'T LEAVE! I CAN'T DO THIS ALONE!" I can finally hear myself screaming._

"NO!" I jolt awake at the sound of my own sorrowful scream. "No! Please, no." I keep repeating. I know it was all a dream, but the pain is still so real. I sit on my bed, hugging one of my infinite pillows to my chest and cry my heart and soul into it to keep from waking my roommate. How long I sit there, I have no idea.

Finally getting control of my sobs, which is now reduced to hiccups, I chance a glance at my alarm clock. With my vision still slightly blurred with tears, I read 4:45 in the too bright red lights. Sighing my frustrations out, broken by a hiccup, I crawl out of bed and walk to the kitchen. Once there, I stand in front of the open fridge lecturing myself on how stupid I am that I could still be troubled with this indescribable pain. It baffles me how my heart still aches so painfully for something that happened over three years ago.

Quickly grabbing a bottle of water, I close the fridge, and sit at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Staring at the bottle, wishing it was something stronger, I quietly demand myself to get over him. Three years is far too long to be pining over an ex. I've seen him with another and he's more than happy where his life is. I need to stop hoping that his relationship falls in the gutter and begs for me back.

Jamming my hands through my hair, I lay my head down on the counter. "When will this end?" I groan and beg out loud.

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 _BANG!_

I jump up, pulling my head from the counter, quickly glancing around wild-eyed and dazed. Realizing I must have fallen into a dreamless sleep during my self-loathing, I notice my roommate giving me that look I've come to hate over the years. "Don't give me that look, you know I hate it, Carol." I reprimand my best friend, slash roommate.

"I wouldn't be giving you any kind of look, if you wouldn't have woken me up at some god-forsaken time this morning." She counters back at me, with a look that could make flowers wither at just a glance. "I've seen you too many times red-faced, puffy-eyed, and lying over the counter to know you're not as okay as you say you are."

"Carol, please, I'm not in the mood for this conversation this early in the morning." I peek over my arms to say, after having hid my face while she was giving her glowing perspective of what I know my face looks like.

"You're never in the mood for this dose of reality, but I'm going to give it to you anyway. He's gone. G-O-N-E! He was the coward that decided to leave and never say another thing to you. He's the one that is constantly seen with different socialites every other week. You need to stop torturing yourself and act your age again. No more hiding behind your bedroom door. From now on, I'm getting you out of this house, and we're going to spend quality time with those you've been avoiding." She continues to rant, no matter how much I try to complain and tell her I'm not worth the effort she's making this whole ordeal out to be, and that I'll go out when I feel like it.

Banging my forehead into my arms, I hear the smart click of her heels on the floor as she makes her way to the front door to leave. Before shutting the door, I see a wave of her hand, and her demanding I quickly get ready for work, and to wear the outfit she laid out for me since we're going out after I get off tonight. Groaning to myself that I can dress myself for work, I glance at the wall clock that reads 9:15.

"Shit! I'm going to be late!" I run through the house, undressing on my way to the bathroom for a quick shower. Showering and drying off in record time, I finally pay attention to what outfit was graciously laid out for me by my overbearing roommate. "Oh hell no, not happening!" I yell, as I pick up what looks like a dress.

Glancing at the clock again, I realize there is no time to find something, anything, more appropriate for work. I quickly throw the blue dress on, already not liking how form fitting it is. Next is the thin black leather jacket with three-quarter sleeves. Thank god it at least leaves a little more to be imagined to my figure, as long as I remember to leave the jacket on. Lastly, there is a pair of strappy black stilettos, to which I'm mentally screaming, 'Is she trying to kill me?'

Knowing, I have no time to rummage through my closet for a pair of flats that would possibly match this, in my opinion, revealing outfit, I quickly slip my feet into them, and do the buckles. I then hobble my way back to the restroom to blow dry my hair into some semblance of control, and put some black eyeliner, blue eye shadow, and rose lipstick to complete this, reluctantly, thrown together outfit. Taking one last look at the make-up, and finding no flaws from what I see, I make my way, clumsily, back into my room. "Damn you, Carol, making me wear shoes and outfits you know I would never be caught dead in. I'll get you back." I grumble out loud, as my ankles try to buckle in on me, with this new height.

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Somehow I was miraculously able to make it to work just in time, but it has now been over an hour and my pile of paperwork has not grown any smaller. If anything, I think it might have gotten larger. 'Why did I let Hiei persuade me into this job? Those years of traveling had not prepared me for such a mundane lifestyle. I'll have to talk to Shippo about this.'

Sighing, I can't help but think about how my little kitsune has grown. It still breaks my heart that after the jewel was finished and I was forced home he had no one else to truly guide him. I know Sango and Miroku watched over him as best they could. But once they were gone, never did I imagine he'd pull such a one-eighty with his behavior. Although, that one-eighty was slightly similar to how he acted when Inuyasha and I first met him. But thinking on it, he's much more ruthless.

Nor did I imagine he would change his name, although that explained why I never could find anything else about him in Grampa's old scrolls. Even though I have to watch what I call him, Yoko Kurama is not what I'm used to calling him. Nor his human name, Shuichi Minamino, although both are strangely fitting after everything he has endured.

"Now, Kagome, I know I'm your favorite, but are such expressions necessary when you can see me any time you'd like?" A concealed, chuckling male voice mocks from behind me pulling me from my thoughts.

Laughing along with him, "You must have me mistaken with another. I never have to seek you out when my whims get away from me, because you always find me first."

We continue our light banter for another few moments, as I return to looking through the ever growing pile of documents in front of me. "How you put up with all of that, I'll never understand."

Jerked from a painstakingly detailed, 3 paged request, I return my attention back to my friend. "What?" Not received a reply, I look up, "What are you talking about, Yusuke?"

Finally sighing, Yusuke moves his gaze from my eyes to the mountains growing on my desk. "All of this paperwork, I don't see how you can handle it all."

"Oh." I blink, while slightly blushing. "I've been wondering that myself. I was just thinking I needed to talk to Shippo about it, when I saw him next." I remark absently having already returned my attention back to the request, not catching my slip.

"Shippo, huh?" He questions. "Who is Shippo?"

Snapping my attention back to him, and forcing my face not to blush with embarrassment, I mutter a lie. "Oh, he's just my supervisor. No big deal." Laughing nervously, I try to wave his disbelieving look off. "Seriously."

"I'm pretty sure I've met your supervisor, and I don't remember his name being Shippo." He counters full of mock suspicion.

"It's a nickname a few of us in this department gave him." I return halfheartedly, praying he believes the lie. "Besides, what would Keiko say about your interest in my 'love life'?" I tease, trying to get him off the topic.

Taken aback by my question, he scratches his cheek nervously, chuckling, "That I'm a great friend, after I overheard her conversation with Car"

"You might not want to finish that sentence, if you know what's good for you." I threaten, cutting him off mid-sentence. "I have work that needs to be finished before I can leave today, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave me alone now." I continue darkly, pinning him with an equally dark look.

Rushing to the door, I hear his growled mutterings. "It had to be me, they said. I had to persuade her, they said. Now I can tell them they should have sent Kurama." Turning back just before closing the door, he hastily throws, "See you after work."

I keep my leer in place until I can no longer sense his presence. Once he's out of range all I can do is groan, and find myself once again slamming my forehead into my arms. "Why me? Just once I wish they would not discuss that crap."

Finally looking up at the clock from my miserable position, I notice I'm going to have to work through lunch again. Sighing out a groan, "Well this wouldn't be a first for me."

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 **A.N.:** Alright this is all I have for now, if it gets a few reviews I will work hard to continue the story for many more chapters to come. Hit that review button and tell me what you truly think!


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